# Any stats on prevalence of rabies in raccoons? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 4, 2019, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-stats-on-prevalence-of-rabies-in-raccoons/842973 "2019-11-04T01:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-stats-on-prevalence-of-rabies-in-raccoons/842973/1 "2019-11-04T01:16:00Z")
I had a discussion with someone last night about rabies in raccoons. I had heard a few times that’s it’s something wild like 90% in the wild (which does seem awfully high), but she countered that it’s almost unheard of among them, which sounds impossible. Any credible sites on rate of infection in the species in the US? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-stats-on-prevalence-of-rabies-in-raccoons/842973/2 "2019-11-04T01:47:46Z")
Somewhere in the middle, but nowhere near 90%: This article [https://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/full/10.2460/javma.253.12.1555](https://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/full/10.2460/javma.253.12.1555) claims about 10% of those tested, and the testing wasn’t done at random, but of suspected carriers. So the real numbers are probably lower. (from 2017) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-stats-on-prevalence-of-rabies-in-raccoons/842973/3 "2019-11-04T17:06:04Z")
We had a clearly ill raccoon show up in our front yard several years ago. Stumbling around in broad daylight, seemingly unable to climb a tree. Of course by the time animal control showed up it was long gone, but I recall they said _distemper_ was usually a bigger issue. ---
**Author:** ![Joeu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joeu/32/2911_2.png) [@Joeu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joeu)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-stats-on-prevalence-of-rabies-in-raccoons/842973/4 "2019-11-04T17:14:36Z")
I heard a pretty terrifying story on This American Life about a rabid raccoon recently (although it’s not really a recent story). > **[319: And the Call Was Coming from the Basement - This American Life](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/319/transcript)** (It’s the story they mark as “Act One: The Hills Have Eyes”) According to that story (I know it doesn’t really answer your exact question): > [@](#): > > There’s a rabies epidemic in New York, which started in the '90s. In 1989, there were only 55 rabid animal cases in the entire state. By 1993, the number had reached almost 3,000. But do read the whole scary story, especially about how difficult it was for this poor woman to get treated. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-stats-on-prevalence-of-rabies-in-raccoons/842973/5 "2019-11-05T01:04:20Z")
> [@Joeu](#): > > But do read the whole scary story, especially about how difficult it was for this poor woman to get treated. Part of it is of dubious accuracy, notably this: _“Rabies is almost 100% fatal in humans if the vaccine isn’t administered right after exposure… And I said, well, I was told I had 10 to 14 days. And he says, you don’t have 10 to 14 days. You have 72 hours from the moment that you are bitten.”_ Rabies post-exposure prophylaxis _should_ be given ASAP, that’s true. But such therapy can be effective even if delayed for days (this depends on factors including where the person was bitten). Regardless of how sloppily this particular encounter was allegedly handled, it doesn’t mean automatic death if shots aren’t given within 72 hours of exposure. ---
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-stats-on-prevalence-of-rabies-in-raccoons/842973/6 "2019-11-05T15:43:36Z")
I’m in the Boston, Massachusetts suburbs. Long ago we had lots of raccoon. They were a blight on our garbage cans. Then a wave of Rabies swept through the raccoon population. 15 years later I now cannot remember the last time I saw a raccoon.